Friday, 1 January 2016

Podcasts are great aren’t they? I’ve been listening to them since I discovered them back in 2009, mainly accompanying me to and from work, which is around 2 hours most days. The ones I really got into first were what I like to call “two guys talking” podcasts. Collings & Herrin and Precious Little being the ones that spring to mind. But as time has gone on, the podcasts I listen to have generally got more focused:

·Comedy and sketch shows: The Bugle, As It Occurs To Me, ManBuyCow, POTOm

·Comedy review shows: Film Fandango, Vitriola Music

I heartily recommend all of these shows, but there is one “two guys talking” podcast that I have fallen in love with that I don’t think many of you know about. I’m talking about The Complete Guide To Everything.

Tim Daniels and Tom Reynolds (from now on known as Tim and Tom) are two friends based in New York who, at the end of 2015 have over 300 episodes under their belt. Tim and Tom aren’t professional comedians; however they could easily take up that career if they chose to do so. Tim is shrouded in mystery but we do know that he is a drummer, while Tom is a successful author, having now written the third book of his superhero series, Meta.

Every week a subject is chosen and in the 60 minutes or so that the podcast runs for, they may spend 10 minutes discussing the topic before getting distracted by each other and veering off, quite often into territories such as Tim’s dislike of baby boomers and teens as well as his fear of horses (especially on aeroplanes) or Tom’s latest Apple product or the latest Batman movie. So you can really pick any show to get started and not worry too much if the topic is one that interests you.

They are based in New York, but not long after the show started they got picked up by the UK iTunes and were made a featured podcast. This has led to the strange situation of them being an American podcast that has a substantial UK listenership, which is often addressed. This has also meant that Tim and Tom have come to the UK on a number of occasions to do live shows. I went to one in Kings Place in June and had a whale of a time at the show, and just as much fun when a suvstantial chunk of the audience joined the guys in the bar for a few beers afterwards.

Andy and Tim outside Kings Place, June 2015

They help fund the podcast through Patreon. I pay $5 per month and this gets me a Google Hangout every month (which I have not joined in with yet because I don’t really know what it is) as well as a shorter podcast, around 15 minutes, every week called “Amazing Facts” which is a competition between Tim and Tom to find the most amazing fact about a subject which the Patreon supporters can vote on each week. One of the targets on their Patreon was to bring back their rather more focussed “Pop Everything” podcast which does manage to stay on topic right the way through. Pop Everything is for everyone, not just Patreon supporters so you can easily subscribe to it.

So guys, our podcast listening habits often get stale; sometimes months go by without looking for new things to listen to. Sometimes we keep listening to the same shows that we have grown tired of and never get round to unsubscribing. So give your podcast app of choice an injection of freshness, and subscribe to The Complete Guide To Everything today.

About Me

A devotee of live comedy, particularly smaller shows, as well as independent comedy podcasts such as Collings & Herrin and Precious Little.
Follow me on Twitter: @AndyMcH and check out my Youtube channel: MouthfullUK